Oh Mother Where Art Thou? (Venus)

[STACY HART]

Stacy tossed and turned in her sleep. Another nightmare, another grim vision of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood... her friends, her Half-Brother, Ethan. and then... Harley. Why was Harley, the girl she was crushing on there? And then... the voice...

"Your love will be tested, Daughter of Venus..." And then there was the same wicked laugh again. That horrible laugh!

Stacy woke up in a cold sweat. She looked about. She was laughing in her bed with other members of the Cohort sleeping in their beds around her. She took a deep breath and then rose. Her mouth was dry, so she decided to go and get some water from the small fountain her Cohort provided. Anything to keep her from closing her eyes again. She really didn't want to see any that again. About a hundred times in the past while had been had been bad enough already. Well, it hadn't been a hundred times, but it might as well have been since she began having the dreams.

After Stacy got a drink of water, she was about to just go sit somewhere inside when something... strange drew her outside. As if she couldn't resist its draw, she stepped out and began to look around.

"Did someone call me?" she asked.

APHRODITE/VENUS

[APHRODITE/VENUS]

Sometimes late at night, Venus enjoyed snooping around camp. So many wonderful things could be taking place that she would miss out on. Well, of course not, she could see anything she wanted from Olympus. Yet tonight she wanted to feel like she lived in the moment, along with the mortals. Her current mortal lover had gotten just a tinyy bit clingy, so she disguised herself as a regular camper, purple shirt and everything as she strolled about camp Jupiter. Why everthing had to be about him was a total riddle to her. Yes, he was king but what else did he have going for him anyway? She giggled and blew a kiss to the skies.

So many troubles, all those lovers had her losing control at times. She sighed a melancholy sigh as she sat outside the cohort that housed one of her Roman daughters, reaching out mentally to see how Stacy was doing. She could feel the distress her daughter was experiencing. Well that was no good! She was bound to get wrinkles if she worried too much! Not even the daughters of Venus were completely immune to the effects of the passage of time.

Stacy must have felt the calling of her blood as she came outside and called out. Venus rose from the bench she'd been sitting on and walked over to Stacy and gave her a big hug. Stacy would know her, of course. The two looked eerily alike in this moment after all. "Come sit with me." Venus said gently as she sat down and patted the bench beside her. "What troubles the mind of my beautiful daughter today?" She asked kindly, hoping she could comfort her daughter a little. Perhaps all she needed was some love from her mother? It wasn't too much to hope that could resolve her problems. The Gods were not allowed to meddle too much in the affairs of mortals, but Venus knew everybody needed their parents at some point or another. Maybe today her presence was allowed to be enough.

STACY HART

[STACY HART]

Stacy had never met her mother. She didn't know if she would ever meet her mother. She sort of gave up in the hopes at time, and decided to just live out her destiny as a proud member of the Twelfth Legion. She got that a lot of demi-gods never got to meet their parents. She didn't think she'd be special enough to be one who did. She was a big geek after all...

And yet, there Venus was in the form of a camper who looked a lot like... well... Stacy. When Venus hugged her, she slowly returned the hug, and then was quick to sit with the goddess when asked. Venus asked what troubled her, but Stacy had questions of her own.

"Mother... um... not that I'm upset... I'm excited in fact, but... why are you here and here now? I've never got to meet you before, not that I remember anyway." She then sighed. She guessed Venus probably had other things to do, so she really needed to get to the point. She turned to her mother and gulped. "Mother, I've had a lot of really bad dreams. There's this evil voice saying my love will be tested. I see friends in it, from here... the other camp. I see Harley, the girl I'm... I'm in love with. The dreams scare me because... well I'm a demi-god, so I think they mean something."

APHRODITE/VENUS

[APHRODITE/VENUS]

The funny thing about demigods was that they somehow always seemed to feel compelled to want reasons. The Gods didn't really have a reputation for sharing their reasons for doing anything but still they often asked. Some things never changed. Perhaps it had something to do with mortality. That wasn't exactly something that Venus was very familiar with. She smiled slightly as her daughter asked the age old questions that Venus had no business answering. That was not her path, after all. She stretched her arm out slightly and softly touched her daughters cheek. "My dear..." She said softly. "You've grown up too fast. I'm always here, even if you can't see me. You know better than to ask questions you know I can't answer." There was no judgement in her tone, merely a sweet understanding that things were, and some questions had a place in every situation even when they could not be answered.

Then Stacy got to the point. The dreams. It wasn't the realm of Venus nor did she want to influence the course of her daughters life in a way that she couldn't predict. She nodded slightly and looked out over the camp. "Dreams are never truly without purpose, even less so for demigods and Gods themselves. I can't tell you what they mean. I'm sorry I can't be of more help." She sighed and then smiled as she looked at Stacy again. "But tell me more about Harley. If she caught your eye she must be something very special." Venus encouraged.

STACY HART

[STACY HART]

Stacy was about to say something when Venus spoke to her, but then she held back. Her mother was right. Gods were busy... Olympians even busier. And who knew how many kids Venus had? There were the Roman ones, and the Greeks ones who were born of Aphrodite like her half-brother Ethan. Stacy guessed she was pretty lucky that Venus was here and here then.

"Thank you for visiting me, Lady Venus," smiled Stacy. "It's truly an honor and... I'm really happy to see you at last. I know this isn't your real form since I heard that could kill me if I saw it, but the form you picked is even more beautiful than I could imagine." She wasn't trying to kiss butt. Stacy was just a dork with compliments.

Stacy sighed about the visions. Another thing she remembered about the gods... they were gods. Stacy and other demi-gods were the heroes. She would have to figure out the dreams for herself. She smiled about Harley though.

"Harley is amazing," she said. "Beautiful, brilliant, and super skilled. She's a Daughter of Vulcan, and she really has a knack for tech and stuff. We're both a couple of geeks, and I think that's a big reason we mesh like we do. I thought we were just going to be best buds, but... I've fallen in love with her big time."

APHRODITE/VENUS

[APHRODITE/VENUS]

On average Venus had long since noticed her children tended to be wise rather than smart. They understood things, especially concerning human interaction, that many other people missed out on. Stacy was no different, although it caused her some heartache to hear the more polite and distant way she spoke. It was better that way, but it served to remind Venus just how short her dear mortal children lived. The blink of an eye and then it was over. She did smile at the compliment, content to enjoy the moment and the kindness in the heart of her daughter.

Hearing how in love her daughter was made her happy. It seemed she was doing her job right, even if some combinations were a little odd to her. One of her own happy with one of her husband? Considering their marriage it always surprised her a little, even if she knew better. She smiled. "Have you told her how you feel yet?" She asked. She didn't exactly have time to watch her children around the clock but it would be a little depressing if she missed a confession.

She sighed deeply then and looked out over the camp. So many souls in peril. "Stacy... about the dreams..." She muttered. "I wish I could tell you more. I wish I could tell you that love always wins but there are too many tragedies out in the world that prove otherwise. Be on your guard and be careful. I fear this will be a rather large challenge." She found it rather depressing but she didn't believe all demigods would live to see the end of it. That rarely was the case in world changing scenrio's. For the sake of Stacy and Harley she just hoped the storm would leave those two relatively unharmed. She liked drama, but less so when it involved her own children. Mothers, even divine ones, still want what is best for their children after all.

STACY HART